"belly up on my lap" I'd be eviscerated trying to achieve this step with the cat I have now. All our previous cats were, well, pussycats about nail clipping compared to her. I finally had to resort to a dose of gabapentin, which barely slows her down but enables me to get one claw at a time over about 3 hours, with a toothy treat after every claw, and plenty of freedom and "da bee" playtime in between to tire her out.